Roper scores 32 in Tornados loss to Limestone

Gaffney, S.C. - Josh Roper scored 22 of his game high 32 points in the second half, including the Tornados first 17 points of the half in leading the comeback, but late free throws again took down the Tornados as Limestone went five of six from the charity stripe in the final 16 seconds of the game as Brevard fell in Timken Center, 78-76.

Roper led Brevard (0-2) with 32 points, connecting on 13 of 25 from the floor, nine of 14 in the second half in his attempt to rally the Tornados from a four-point halftime deficit. Gaither Hendrix added 12 points and three assists, while Josh Jordan pulled down a team-high seven rebounds. Vincent Dombrowski continued the Tornados streak of hitting a three-pointer at the buzzer, connecting from just behind half court as time expired in the contest to round out the scoring leaders with seven points.

Jarrell Douglass led three Saints (3-0) in double figures with 26 points and added nine rebounds in the contest. Stewart Clark and Joe Raga added 10 points apiece as the Saints connected on 43.6 percent of their field goal attempts in the game. Danny Friend also pulled down nine rebounds in the contest to lead the Saints on the boards.

A three-pointer by Ashton Ford gave the Saints the 12-11 lead at the 16:01 mark in the first half, but coming out of the media timeout, the Tornados went on an 8-0 run, capped by a three-pointer by Roper to go up 19-12 with 13:13 to play in the opening period. The lead would expand to 23-14 following a jumper by Jackson, before the Saints went on a run of their own, cutting the lead back to 28-26, before a three-pointer by Kenny Fluellen completed the comeback as Limestone took a 29-28 lead with 7:09 in the half.

The teams would go back and forth the remainder of the opening half, until Douglas went on a personal 7-2 run against the Tornados to close out the half as the Saints held the 38-34 lead at the break.

Roper reeled off the first six points of the half to give the Tornados the 40-38 lead, but Limestone took charge, going up 50-42 off a three-pointer by Bogdan at the 15:48 mark.

Brevard steadily chipped away at the lead throughout the half, tying it up at 57, 59 and 61, before taking the lead for the first time in the second half at 70-69 off a layup by Drew Schauss with 3:00 to play.

Douglass would give the lead back to the hosts for good with a pair of free throws with 2:45 to play. A desperation half-court shot bounced off the backboard and into the net at the buzzer for Dombrowski to finish the scoring in the contest as the Tornados fell to the Saints on Saturday afternoon, 78-76.

For the contest, the Tornados were 31-69 (44.9%) from the floor, hitting 52.9 percent of their shots in the second half in the comeback. Brevard also held the rebounding edge over the Saints, pulling down 37 rebounds to Limestone’s 34, but the decisive edge in the contest came at the free throw line as the Saints went 23 of 29 from the charity stripe, while the Tornados were eight of 12.

Brevard continues on the road, heading to Banner Elk, N.C. to take on Lees-McRae College on Monday, November 29th. Tipoff for the game between the Tornados and the Bobcats in Williams Gymnasium is set for 7 p.m.